So, yeah, this angers me and I think bombing facebook with Trayvon Martin articles does little but annoy people (still did it). Was thinking what else I can do, the FBI is now involved, thankfully. I think the best I could do is reach out to the family and express my sympathies for the unjust loss of their son.

DOJ, FBI Opens Investigation Of Trayvon Martin Death

Federal authorities have opened a formal investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old black teenager shot by a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida. DOJ's full statement:

“The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the FBI opened an investigation into the facts and circumstances of the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The department will conduct a thorough and independent review of all of the evidence and take appropriate action at the conclusion of the investigation. The department also is providing assistance to and cooperating with the state officials in their investigation into the incident. With all federal civil rights crimes, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person acted intentionally and with the specific intent to do something which the law forbids – the highest level of intent in criminal law. Negligence, recklessness, mistakes and accidents are not prosecutable under the federal criminal civil rights laws. The Community Relations Service will be in Sanford, Fla., this week to meet with civil rights leaders, community leaders, and local law enforcement to address tension in the community.”

On February 26, 2012, a 17-year-old African-American named Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida. The shooter was George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old white man.* Zimmerman admits killing Martin, but claims he was acting in self-defense. Three weeks after Martin’s death, no arrests have been made and Zimmerman remains free.
Here is what everyone should know about the case:
1. Zimmerman called the police to report Martin’s “suspicious” behavior, which he described as “just walking around looking about.” Zimmerman was in his car when he saw Martin walking on the street. He called the police and said: “There’s a real suspicious guy. This guy looks like he’s up to no good, on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around looking about… These a**holes always get away” [Orlando Sentinel ]
2. Zimmerman pursued Martin against the explicit instructions of the police dispatcher:
Dispatcher: “Are you following him?”
Zimmerman: “Yeah”
Dispatcher: “OK, we don’t need you to do that.”
[Orlando Sentinel ]
3. Prior to the release of the 911 tapes, Zimmerman’s father released a statement claiming “[a]t no time did George follow or confront Mr. Martin.” [Sun Sentinel ]
4. Zimmerman was carrying a a 9 millimeter handgun. Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. [ABC News ]
5. Martin weighed 140 pounds. Zimmerman weighs 250 pounds. [Orlando Sentinel ; WDBO ]
6. Martin’s English teacher described him as “as an A and B student who majored in cheerfulness.” [Orlando Sentinel ]
7. Martin had no criminal record. [New York Times ]
8. Zimmerman “was charged in July 2005 with resisting arrest with violence and battery on an officer. The charges appear to have been dropped.” [Huffington Post ]
9. Zimmerman called the police 46 times since Jan. 1, 2011. [Miami Herald ]
10. According to neighbors, Zimmerman was “fixated on crime and focused on young, black males.” [Miami Herald ]
11. Zimmerman “had been the subject of complaints by neighbors in his gated community for aggressive tactics” [Huffington Post ]
12. A police officer “corrected” a key witness. “The officer told the witness, a long-time teacher, it was Zimmerman who cried for help, said the witness. ABC News has spoken to the teacher and she confirmed that the officer corrected her when she said she heard the teenager shout for help.” [ABC News ]
13. Three witnesses say they heard a boy cry for help before a shot was fired. “Three witnesses contacted by The Miami Herald say they saw or heard the moments before and after the Miami Gardens teenager’s killing. All three said they heard the last howl for help from a despondent boy.” [Miami Herald ]
14. The officer in charge of the crime scene also received criticism in 2010 when he initially failed to arrest a lieutenant’s son who was videotaped attacking a homeless black man. [New York Times ]
15. The police did not test Zimmerman for drugs or alcohol. A law enforcement expert told ABC that Zimmerman sounds intoxicated on the 911 tapes. Drug and alcohol testing is “standard procedure in most homicide investigations.” [ABC News ]

Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:19 am

Captiv8

Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8546
Location: Third Coast

This Zimmerman guy sounds unbalanced, and this crime is only clearly driven by race. That makes it a hate crime. Hopefully there can be some justice on this and Zimmerman can be taken off the streets. Ironic that the Neighborhood Watch guy is the hoodlum.

Tue Mar 20, 2012 2:26 am

desert penguin

Joined: 27 Oct 2006
Posts: 1104

Doesn't it just seem like this guy must be the son of a retired officer who never wanted anything more than Daddy's approval and always planned to follow in his footsteps, but he just never could pass the written civil service exam? I mean, are Florida police officers really that bad at investigating a homicide? Seriously? It reeks of cover-up. Why would they automatically take the side of the guy who calls them everyday like some desperate, forgotten lover? Shouldn't they hate this guy? How did he get felony battery of a police officer dropped? What was he resisting arrest of back in 2005?

Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:36 am

T-Wrexp00ny tang

Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 6410
Location: Detroit, Michigan

only white life is protected in America..

Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:09 am

jakethesnakeguy who cried about wrestling being real

Joined: 03 Feb 2006
Posts: 6311
Location: airstrip one

Apparently this is blowing up. It's all over the news and there is a petition with half a million signatures already.

This guy chased a kid down and killed him and claimed self-defense and by law no one is going to prosecute? That's fucked up.

Tue Mar 20, 2012 9:51 am

Captiv8

Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8546
Location: Third Coast

That's crazy to me that you can say you shot someone in self-defense and get away with it as long as there were no witnesses who can claim otherwise. I can understand if somebody busts into your home or property, but out on the street? Also, why is no one commenting on whether Martin was defending himself because he was threatened by Zimmerman? Shit.

Tue Mar 20, 2012 10:14 am

jakethesnakeguy who cried about wrestling being real

Joined: 03 Feb 2006
Posts: 6311
Location: airstrip one

Captiv8 wrote: That's crazy to me that you can say you shot someone in self-defense and get away with it as long as there were no witnesses who can claim otherwise. I can understand if somebody busts into your home or property, but out on the street? Also, why is no one commenting on whether Martin was defending himself because he was threatened by Zimmerman? Shit.

That's kind of what I was getting at. This Zimmerman guy effectively chased down this Martin dude, while holding a gun, and murdered him and claimed self-defense and the law in Florida is OK with this? Appalling.

Tue Mar 20, 2012 11:05 am

Captiv8

Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8546
Location: Third Coast

I'd say that anyone claiming self-defense, especially when responding with a handgun, should also have to demonstrate that there was reasonable cause for said self-defense. In other words, there should be due process and not a free pass.

Tue Mar 20, 2012 2:16 pm

Confidential

Joined: 23 Jan 2004
Posts: 2040

Fuck man, you can hear Trayvon Martin screaming for help on the 911 call. In what world do the police say "we have no reason to believe otherwise" and let it go?

Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:55 pm

Limbs

Joined: 04 Feb 2011
Posts: 977

Fucking seriously.

Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:11 pm

medicinemanHALFLING

Joined: 21 Apr 2007
Posts: 1393
Location: Iowa City

jakethesnake wrote:

Captiv8 wrote: That's crazy to me that you can say you shot someone in self-defense and get away with it as long as there were no witnesses who can claim otherwise. I can understand if somebody busts into your home or property, but out on the street? Also, why is no one commenting on whether Martin was defending himself because he was threatened by Zimmerman? Shit.

That's kind of what I was getting at. This Zimmerman guy effectively chased down this Martin dude, while holding a gun, and murdered him and claimed self-defense and the law in Florida is OK with this? Appalling.

I feel like I've heard that Florida law is a little backwards on this point before. My friend used to live down there and had an encounter in his apartment building with another knife-wielding man who lived there. I don't remember the details but I remember that for some reason charges weren't pressed due to Florida's looser and unusual interpretations of self-defense. I think they can still hit kids in school down that way, too.

No doubt this seems incredibly fucked up. I mean, even if it WERE self-defense, you still get arrested for manslaughter or something and they sort all that out later, right? You don't just cop to killing someone - a fucking kid - publicly, and not at least go to jail until your lawyer gets your out...right? Wtf is going on here?

Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:56 am

Jesse Custer

Joined: 01 Dec 2006
Posts: 1258
Location: London

medicineman wrote: My friend used to live down there and had an encounter in his apartment building with another knife-wielding man who lived there. I don't remember the details but I remember that for some reason charges weren't pressed due to Florida's looser and unusual interpretations of self-defense. I think they can still hit kids in school down that way, too.

Haha! The way you phrase this it sounds like your friend is a kinfe-wielder himself.

Sorry.. kinda off-topic and not helpful.

Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:16 am

McLirious

Joined: 24 Feb 2003
Posts: 533
Location: Portland, OR

Ban handguns!

Thu Mar 22, 2012 10:44 am

mortalthoughtsLAME KID

Joined: 12 Dec 2002
Posts: 11616
Location: MI

McLirious wrote: Ban handguns!

ban fucking morons from reproducing!

Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:02 am

T-Wrexp00ny tang

Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 6410
Location: Detroit, Michigan

McLirious wrote: Ban handguns!

Jim Brady's fam has been gunning for that objective for the past 30 years...